Process of erecting large span buildings



Feb. 4,-1947. M. A. FO UHY PROCESS OF ERECTING LARGE SPAN BUILDINGS Filed March 10, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. Mas 4d. A Fol/H) Feb. 4, 1947. M, A, FUHY 2,415,240

PROCESS 0F ERECTING LARGE sun BUILDINGS Filed March 10, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M/c/Md ,4. few/r Patented Feb. 4, 1947 a f ,1

, PROCESS OF .ERECTINGLARGE SPAN BUILDINGS Michael A. Fouhy, Brooklyn, N. :Y.

I Application MarchlO, 19.44, Sefiali'No. 525,860

- 1 Claim.

1 invention relatesto parabolic or other curved roofs, including the so-called bow-string type, and aims to permit the construction of in- "te'grally formed and mutually merged combination roofs and sides of buildings. This invention is particularly applicable to buildings of large span. By't'he term large span is meant a span of twenty-five feet or more.

Another object of the invention is the provision 'of'fiexible'members or girders or the like, wherein the top and bottom elements are held together in spaced 'relationshipby means of webbing or lacing, these members being made sufiiciently flex- "ible sof'that theymay be readily bent, curved, or arched into the desirediorm atthe. building site "01 elsewhere. 'When erected, the top element becomes 'a structural .part of the .roofing and the bottom elementforms part of the ceiling of the building.

I A further object of the invention .is to provide -a novlcombination-of fabrication and erection 'whereineac'h member s component parts are assembled on the site without previously having been curved and arethen curved during the process of lifting the members into place, advantage being taken of 'the material sag of the members .end s"while the member is being lifted by its middle. The member is then maneuvered into position, afterflthesagged ends are drawn inward and downward by means of the rigging, and is fastened intoits final position in the structure.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the following description, wherein characters of reference refer to like-'numberedparts in the accompanyingdrawings; Itisto be noted that the drawings are intended for the purpose of illustration only, and it is neither intended nor "desired to limit the invention necessarily tothe ispecific details of construction or ornamental dejisign Jshown excepting insofar "as they may be deemed essential'to' the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view. of a, structure including roof, ceiling and walls, formed of the flexible members of thisinven'tion.

2'is a, perspective'viewshowing one of the flexible members in the various steps of the process installation in its final position on the building site.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevational view of a structur utilizin a bow-string type of truss, wherein the top chord is made of one of the flexible members of this invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, partly in section and partly broken away,

showing the relationship between the top and bottom members and the'webbing.

(Fig. "5.15 ,a fragmentary perspective view of a modified type of'flexible member.

Fig. "6 is a fragmentary "perspective view of another :modified type of flexible member.

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of a member of-the type shown inFigs. 1 and 2 in its final position'in the structure, not shown, but wherein the distance between the top and bottom elements of the member is less at its ends than at its middle.

Pig. "8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing a member wherein the distance between th top'and bottom elements is greater at the ends than at "the middle of-the member.

"Fig. 9 is a view illustrating the manner of reinforcing a curved member at the top of thearch. Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate different ways of 'bracing the curved member inits final position.

. Referring in detail to the drawings, the nu- "meral [5 indicates a fragment of a flexible member'comprising a pair of spacedplates or elements "l6 and I1 secured to opposite sides of :a webbing 18, whereby the webbing retainsthe elements l6 and *l 'lin mutually spaced relationship. The securement of the plates 16 and I1 to-thewebbing maybe achieved in any manner or by any means,

suchfas, for example, welding, riveting, etc; The

continuous length of the member [5 may be formed by welding or otherwise attaching togethershorter lengths ofmaterial.

.Fig. 5 shows a modified construction of the 'fiexiblemember, herein indicated at [9, wherein, instead of the plates 16 and I'l, horizontally spaced upper rods 20*f0rm the upper element of '"the member, and similarly spaced lower rods2l 'i orm the 'lower element, Webbing 22 joins the upperandlower elements in the same manner as above-described-the rods 20 and'zl being secured,

ariy-desiredmanner, to the corners of the webbing.

Theform offiexible member shown in Fig. 6 at "23 "has a single rod 24 constituting its'upper elemerit and a pair of horizontally spaced rods 25 forming itslower element. 'The'upper and lower "elements are joined by atriangularsectioned webbing 26 in the obvious manner illustrated.

In Fig. 2 a member I 5 is indicated lying on the ground at the building site, and at 21 are shown sections of the foundation or wall tops on which the member is to be mounted and anchored. Prior to lifting the member H: by securing the cable 28 of the boom 29 to its midpoint, cables 30 and 3| are secured to its ends; the latter cables pass a i l abutting edges are all fastened together.

r 3 through a pulley block into the winding drum on the hoist 33, the pulley block being shown at 32. As the member I5 is lifted above the ground, by its midpoint, it will obviously sag at the ends, and with the cables 30 and 3| loose it will assume a position such as shown in broken lines at NM. The amount of bend of the member may then be increased by drawing in the cables 30 and 3|, and as the degreeof' flexing is increased the-member will pass" through the form shown at l5b and finally into that shown at I50, that is, with the distance between its ends equal to that between,

the anchorages 21. The ends of the member bent.

into its final desired shape are then anchored in the anchorages 21 in any desired and well known manner. The flexing of the memberinto its final desired form may be achieved simultaneously While it is being maneuvered intoposition for anchoring it. However, the member may be flexed first and lifted into position afterward.

The structure shown'in Fig. 1 illustrates the appearance of a structure consisting of a plurality of the member l5 erected and anchored in the manner just described above, wherein the'bases, foundation, or wall tops are again indicated at 21. In this illustration, the top and bottom ele- -ments l6 and ll of each member l5 but the for- Wardmost, are wider than the web I8 and extend to equal distances beyond the web, and the abutting edges orseams thus formed between adjoin- -ing,upper elements lfirare shown at 34. Similarly,

the seams thus formed by the lower elements I! are shown at 35. The seams 34 and 35 are closed in any suitable manner, or, in other words, the The upper elements i6 thus together form the roof and .the outer walls of the structure, and the lower elements ll form the ceiling andinner .Walls. A door is shown at 3 6-anda1 window at 31.;1-The designing engineer would. understand .how to frame-around doors','windows, or other openings, as well as howto proportion the depth andcross-sectional area of the flexible members to preserve the-smoothness of the curve wherever openings in the roof or walls occur.

In the v diagrammatic view of the erected member-38 shown in Fig. 7, the distance between the uppermember 16 and lower member I! is at its maximum atthe; midpoint and uniformly dimim ishes toward both ends, atwhich points it is ata T vminimum. When such a member is flexed about it's midpoint, itwillattain the flattened arch shape illustrated, A 1 n In-the member 39 of Fig. 8, the distance .be-

tween. the elements .16 and I! is at its minimum at the midpoint of the member and increases luniformly; toward both ends, A at whichfgit is at a maximumr Such a member, when flexed about its midpoint, will assume thejpointed arch shape shown. Further-variations of thgflexibilty. and strength of the members maybe-,achievled by varying the weight or cross-sectional areas of the top and-bottom elements at different points along the-;curve, In-Fig, 8, for example,- it. maybe deemed desirable or necessaryto increase the Xveight; Of-the top; andbottom elements at the thinnest section of the; curve, and --perhaps adjacent theretoa-lso.

" it is brought into contact with the ends of the ,m'ember toward each other to curve saidmember horizontal brace 40 which then becomes an integral part of the member, rendering it very much stronger and more rigid in its place in the structure.- 1

The top and bottom elements l6 and I1, and the Webbing I8, may all be made of the same .material, such as steel, wood, fiber, plastics, plywood, glass, etc., or of any other useful material whatsoever, Or the said three elements which constitute the complete flexible member 15, may be each made of a differentmaterial, or any two thereof of one material and the third of another material.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from .the spirit and scope of the invention.

It should be mentioned that the thickness 0 the flexible members shown on the drawings-is very greatly exaggerated both as a matter of necessity and to be able to illustrate thedetails of the members to better advantage. Asan example of a closer approximation of thethickness of a flexible member with respect to its length, an erected flexible member having a span of, onehundred feet and a heightlof fifty feet, would show 'a distance of but threeor four inches between thetopand'bottomelements. I claim: H l

The process of erecting large span buildings comprising the steps of forming an elongated "continuous, hingeless fiexiblestructural mmber,

then lifting said member above a foundation and exerting a force to draw the ends of said and finally lowering said member on the foundation nd anchoring the end f Said V thereto.

The following references are of medalse e file tr thisv patent:

"UNITED STATES PATENTS .Number Name @Date 2,273,797 ijf i 1 "Apr. 1942 2,281,981 Le 'Idurneau May 5; 19%2 2,271,451, Blaskill g Jan. 27,1942 1,728,964 G Q$$,--.,-:;&- 241929 1v :JFOREIGN PATENTS Number f Y fjcou ry 'Datejf 21,038 French f; -IFeb, 19;,1920

Italian 

